16 November, 2008
NaNoWriMo Update
That's my NaNoWriMo Author Page reflected in my cup of tea...
I'm a little more than half way through to my 50,000 word count, which is great because we're a smidge more than half way through the month! My goal for this weekend was to hit 30,000 words and after my last writing session I'm at 29,371, so I think I'll revise my goal upward to 32,000 words by the end of this weekend (for most of this month, I've been revising my goals downward so this makes a nice change).
To be honest, last weekend I wasn't sure I'd be able to continue with my novel. I spent a glorious day Saturday with friends down in the South Bay and had gone to a friend's photography show opening Friday night, which meant that I hadn't added to my word count for about 60 hours. That, while being confronted with a very messy apartment pushed me over the edge into meltdown mode last Sunday. And yet, as I was trying to work through the meltdown, I peeled back the layers and realized that I had set myself down this dark path a week before, at the first write-in I attended. I made a terrible rookie mistake: I discussed the plot of my novel with other people. Dumb, dumb and DUMB! I had no more than gone through my synopsis when the woman next to me said, "Oh, well don't go see The Secret Life of Bees, then." Oooooookay. You know, it's not as though I thought I had the Most! Original! Story! Ever! Told! (and really, aren't there but 25 plots in the universe? Doesn't every story kind of toe the line of one of those 25 or so plots?), but it really took the piss out of me to have someone sit there and tell me she'd heard (or seen) it before. It was one thing I just did not need to hear when I had just started writing my story. It took me a good ten days to regain any sense of enthusiasm I had for writing it.
So, at the approximately 180,000 word mark of my NaNoWriMo experience (including my first three novels), I think I'm finally beginning to hit my stride as a writer. Mind you, it's still bloody awful, but for the last 15,000 words or so, I've done a lot more "set decorating" and character developing and a lot less dictation. And, although I try to keep my early drafts away from kitty eyes, Simon seems to approve of how I'm writing the cat parts this time (well, mostly).
It's kind of a relief to have built up a 2-3 day word cushion. I think it lines me up well to hit the 50k mark by Thanksgiving when I can use that time to relax and spend time with friends (and think about the prize I'm awarding myself this year for going 4-4!). But more than that, for the first time since I've started participating in NaNoWriMo, I feel like I can tap into the wealth of writing resources and inspiration (thanks to my friends for lending me books and sending handouts!) without the paralyzing fear of Oh no! I don't have TIME to get into those exercises! It's quite liberating and I actually am starting to feel like a writer.
But, no, you can't read any of my novel right now. Sorry! ;-)
Labels: NaNoWriMo
~~ victoria on 4:29 PM ~~ 0 comments
========================================
